Overview

• New figures show hospital spending up 9.6%, physician services up 7.8% and pharmaceuticals up 6%, prompting GKV chief Oliver Blatt to warn the system cannot sustain such increases.
• Blatt proposes an expenditure moratorium that would cap price and fee growth to insurers’ actual revenues to keep contributions stable at year-end without reducing benefits, citing an existing legal basis.
• CDU politician Tino Sorge advocates low-cost Basistarife in statutory insurance with optional add-on packages, presenting a modular coverage model to avoid further premium hikes.
• Health Minister Nina Warken says a Basistarif is not being prepared now as a reform commission begins work in September to review structural options.
• Greens and the DGB caution a base plan could expand a two-tier system into three and risk minimal basic coverage, while the KBV welcomes a debate about voluntary add-ons; further contribution increases in 2026 remain possible and Chancellor Merz has suggested benefit cuts.